


and the act struck a spark

by myloveiamthespeedofsound



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, because screw that canon ending, good end au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-13 08:07:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12979740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myloveiamthespeedofsound/pseuds/myloveiamthespeedofsound
Summary: and you feel like an ocean; being warmed by the sunThe moments - the good, the bad, the big, the little and all the ones in between - that make up the life Gladio and Prompto carve out for themselves in the shadow of duty, royalty and prophecy.





	1. the fight

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhh I'm so excited for this! A couple of general notes before we get going here - as indicated by the tag this is not going to be in any real order outside of this first chapter which can be seen as the beginning. Other than that we're going to skip around a lot, everywhere from Brotherhood Era though the game timeline, the years of darkness and then into a "good end" AU where Noctis doesn't actually die.  
> Because that sucked and I want no part of it. 
> 
> I've marked the story with a Mature rating but please note that some chapters will have explicit content - I will be sure to give notes in the chapter notes for those and the story itself can still be read and enjoyed with skipping those if the smut is not your jam!
> 
> Also Prompto will be 17 to Gladio's 20 when their relationship starts - just putting that out there so everyone knows upfront what's going on and whether or not that's in your comfort zone.
> 
> Please keep an eye on the chapter notes as that will be where any content warnings will be placed. I'm terrible at tagging but good at notes!
> 
> The title of this fic and basically the driving force behind the whole thing is [Simple Song by The Shins](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyAJ4V06izg) and I super recommend everyone checking it out!

_Remember walking a mile to your house, a glow in the dark_  
_I made a fumblin’ play for your heart and the act struck a spark_  
_You wore a charm in a chain that I stole especially for you_  
_Love’s such a delicate thing that we do, with nothing to prove_  
_Which I never knew_

 

 

"Dude, I can't believe you got in a _fight_ ," Noctis said as he lifted the game's gun and took aim.

"I would say it was more of a scuffle," Prompto insisted as he leaned against the side of the arcade cabinet, a hand gingerly touching at the bruising around his left eye.  

"You have a black eye," Noctis pointed out dryly, a frown as only three of his ten shots hit the  mark.    
  
"Yeah… well… you should see the other guy?" Prompto offered with a huff.  "Actually don't.  Don't see the other guy," he added.  Because the other guy had barely a mark.

"What even happened?" Noct questioned and swiped his card through the reader for the game again.  
  
Prompto shrugged.  "Felip is an ass?  The usual?"

Noct looked over at his friend, brow furrowed.  "Yeah that's not new but… Prompto you've _never_ gotten in a fight, what the hell, man?" he pushed.   
  
"It's nothing, Noct, can we just drop it?" Prompto asked as he shuffled his weight nervously.  He didn't want to talk about this.  Not with Noctis.  Not when he knew that Noct would take what had happened and feel guilty over it, that was the last thing Prompto wanted. He dug out his phone and used that as an excuse to avoid eye contact with Noct, even though looking at the screen was tough with one eye swollen nearly shut and the pounding headache that had started to set in.     
  
"Yeah - but - Prom…" Noct started but then stopped when he saw the clear _please don't_ written on his friend's face.  "Alright.  But dude, you better let me know if someone causes you shit again," he pointed out and started shooting at the targets again.  "I'll kick their ass."   
  
Prompto couldn't help but laugh a little.  Though really, that right there was exactly _why_ he _wouldn't_  tell Noctis.  The last thing Noctis needed was to get expelled for kicking ass on his sorry behalf.  It would just cause more trouble than it was worth. Than _he_ was worth. After all, the Crown Prince couldn't very well be getting in schoolyard brawls, now could he.  "Yeah, yeah…" he muttered and gave a dismissive wave of his hand.   
  
"Ugh -" Noctis said after another round of the game.  "I suck at this," he complained.  

Prompto glanced up from his phone and flashed Noctis a grin.  "Try aiming next time," he teased.  

"You're the worst," Noctis said with a groan and then dug his own phone out as it chimed.  "Specs is out front," he said and picked up his school bag from where he'd dropped it beside the arcade cabinet.    
  
Prompto hitched his own messenger bag over his shoulder and followed Noctis out of the arcade to the sleek black car waiting out front.  He reached up and pulled the shades that had been on the top of his head over his eyes as they walked out, not wanting Ignis - or Gladio as he spotted the other with Ignis next to the car - to see the bruising on his face.  "Yo," he greeted as he and Noct came closer.   
  
"Prompto," Ignis replied with a nod and polite smile.  

"Nice shades," Gladio said with a smirk and Prompto glanced down under the gaze.  

"Thanks," he mumbled out as he dug a toe into the cement.    
  
"Want a ride?" Noctis asked him.   
  
Prompto shook his head and glanced up at Noctis.  "Naw, dude, I'm cool.  I gotta hit up the library anyways," he answered.

Noctis shrugged.  "Alright - text me later," he said as he climbed into the backseat of the car.

Prompto waved and gave a nod to Ignis and Gladio.  "Later," he said started off in the other direction.  
  
As he walked, Prompto pulled out headphones from his bag and slipped the jack into his phone, found a playlist and started it up.  The day had been kind of a shit show and he was more than happy for it to be wrapping up.  He fully intended on dropping off his almost overdue books at the library, maybe grabbing a couple more, heading home and pretending like today never happened in the first place.  He mentally calculated the state of his bank account and days left until his mom would wire some more money and grinned a bit as he realized he could indeed stop by his favorite noodle place to bring home some dinner.  At least that was one good thing.

He was so lost in the thought and with the music that filtered through his headphones he didn't realize that Gladio had been trailing him and calling after him until a sudden hand on his shoulder had him jumping nearly a foot.  Prompto turned around and immediately felt relief as he saw Gladio.  He reached up and tugged down his headphones, heart still pounding.  "Dude, what the hell," he said breathlessly with a nervous laugh.  "You trying to give me a heart attack?"

Gladio gave a sheepish shrug.  "Yeah, well, I was calling you but you didn't hear," he pointed out with a nod toward the headphones now looped behind Prompto's neck.

"So what's up?" Prompto asked as they moved to the side and out of the flow of walking traffic on the sidewalk.  He hopped up on a ledge and looked up at Gladio.  

Gladio didn't answer, instead he leaned forward and Prompto flinched for just a moment as Gladio reached to tug off the sunglasses.  "Yeah, that's what I thought," Gladio said as he took in the bruising on Prompto's face and his expression shifted into something sympathetic.  "You ice that yet?" he asked, and Prompto was a little surprised to hear the level of concern in his tone.

"Uh, yeah, they did at the nurses office," he let Gladio know and watched as he moved to lean against the ledge next to him.

"Make sure you do it again when you get home," Gladio instructed and Prompto nodded.  "Was Noctis there when this happened?" he asked.

Prompto shook his head.  "No, of course not, no," he answered quickly and Gladio relaxed a little at that.  Prompto glanced over the street as they fell into a silence.

"So what _did_ happen?" Gladio asked after a few minutes, brow raised as he turned his gaze to Prompto beside him.

Prompto bit at his thumbnail as he debated how to answer.  "There's this kid in our class… Felip.  He's an ass which is - you know - nothing new.  He's been an ass for _years_ ," Prompto started and Gladio nodded.  "And uh - usually it's like, whatever right?  I don't really give a shit what he says about me because he's a jerk and I'll hopefully never have to see him after we graduate again so I figure ride out the rest of this year and next and it's done.."

Gladio shifted his weight as Prompto paused.  "So what made today different?"

Prompto shrugged, raked a hand through his hair.  "I don't care what he says about _me_ .  But he started talking shit about _Noct_ in the bathroom and I don't know… kind of snapped I guess.  We yelled at each other, some of his buddies egged it all on and next thing I knew I had tried to punch him in the face which was a dumbass move because then he decked me," Prompto explained.  It felt… actually kind of nice to get it out.  The whole thing had sucked and he still felt a little jittery and on edge but vocalizing the situation helped.   "My first big fight and I fucking failed," he added with a bit of a huff and a self deprecating laugh.  

Gladio shook his head.  "I wouldn't say you failed, Prompto.  You stood up for your friend, nothing failing about that," he pointed out.  "Let's see how you punched him," he suggested.

Prompto raised a brow. "What? Like _show_ you?"

Gladio nodded.  "Yeah, make a fist, tough stuff - let's see how you do it."

Prompto laughed, nervously, and hopped off the ledge.  He turned to face Gladio and lifted his hand, curled it into a fist with his thumb tucked under his fingers.  "Like that?" he asked more than said and gave an offended look when Gladio just laughed.  "Hey, come on now."  
  
Gladio shook his head.  "Okay first off…" he started and reached to pull Prompto's thumb out from under the other fingers.  "Don't tuck your thumb, you're just asking to get it broken that way and you're damn lucky it didn't happen today," he instructed.  He lifted his own hand and showed Prompto the proper way to make a fist.  "Like this," he said.  "Now you."

Prompto lifted his hand again and made a fist, thumb on the outside.

"Good," Gladio said with a smile and Prompto grinned back.  "Now hit my hand," he instructed as he held his palm out.  "Don't worry, you're not gonna hurt me," Gladio insisted when Prompto fixed him with a wary look.

Prompto let out a breath and then punched Gladio's open palm.  Barely.  Honestly he just felt a little silly standing there in the middle of the street punching someone's hand.  

Gladio just shook his head.  "Okay, stop," he said and dropped his palm.  He nodded at Prompto's feet which were just haphazardly turned in two different directions.  "First of all, you punch with your body not just your hand, " Gladio started to explain and demonstrated a better stance.  "Good, like that," he encouraged when Prompto mirrored.  "Now you want to pivot in, keep your arm engaged and slightly twist your wrist down -" he reached for Prompto's hand, put it in a fist and moved it to the right angle.  "You want to strike with this part hitting first," he said as he ran his fingers over Prompto's first two knuckles.

Prompto glanced down at Gladio's hand on his and swallowed hard.  He tried, he really did, to pay attention to what was being said but there was something fundamentally unfair about how good looking Gladio was and the casual touch was making his head spin.  "Okay, got it," he said though, blushed a little as his voice cracked on the okay.  

Gladio moved his arm into place and guided him through the motion.  "Like that," he said as he did so and Prompto was pretty sure he was about to explode.  He was not mentally prepared for this today.  "Now you,"  he said as he dropped his hold on Prompto's arm.

Prompto prayed he wasn't blushing as hard as he felt like he was and glanced down to check his feet.  He shuffled into the position Gladio had demonstrated and then lifted his hand and punched at Gladio's open palm.  

"Better, much better," Gladio praised and Prompto couldn't help but grin.

"But the main thing you need to know about throwing a punch," Gladio started as he let his gaze fall on Prompto, "is that just because you know _how_ to do it, doesn't mean you always _should_ do it."

Prompto was quiet at that and then nodded. "Fair enough," he agreed. "And hey, don't worry, Big Guy I'm not exactly itching to go around starting a bunch of fights," he assured Gladio.

"Big Guy?" Gladio asked with a perk of his brow.

Prompto ducked his head and rubbed his finger against the bridge of his nose. "Yeah because you're - you know - huge?" He blushed and huffed a laugh.

Gladio shook his head with an amused smile. "Alright… well, I'll see you around them, Blondie." A beat. "Cause you're - you know…" he prefaced and gave a wave of his hand in the general direction of Prompto's hair.

Prompto laughed. "Mine was better," he bragged and flashed Gladio a grin.

"Yeah, yeah… I'll work on it," Gladio replied with a smile. "Don't forget the ice," he reminded Prompto.

"I won't," Prompto assured him and then gave a wave as Gladio started to walk off.  He waited until Gladio had disappeared into the crowd and then slipped his headphones back up over his ears.  A small smile tugged at his lips as he started to walk again, a sort of weird giddiness that had settled into the pit of his stomach.  And, he realized, his hand tingled with the ghost of Gladio's touch.


	2. scar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading and leaving kudos/comments - it means a lot to me!

 

Prompto juggled his book bag and a couple bags of groceries as he struggled to fit his key into the lock and open the front door of the house.  And it felt like a monumental victory that he managed to get the door open and himself in the house without dropping a thing.  Shoes were kicked off and his book bag dropped unceremoniously at the front door - his parents were gone again so he didn't bother to call out as he entered the quiet house.  He used his elbow to hit light switches on his way to the kitchen and finally set the bags of groceries down.  

He had been hesitant at first, accepting the credit card from Ignis for emergencies back when Gladio had first gotten stock of his living situation.  And for the most part Prompto hadn't needed to touch it.  But it had been a bad couple of weeks again with his shifts being shortened or cut altogether and he was more than grateful for Ignis' foresight now given that it was only that which made the bags of basics he set down even possible.  And it was nice, to know he wasn't going to go hungry for the week.  

He had set about putting the groceries away when his phone started to buzz across the counter where he'd set it down with his keys.  Prompto tossed the last bag of vegetables into the fridge and grabbed the device.  "Heeeeeeey buddy," he started having seen Noctis' name (prince of beans) on the display.  "So I was thinking we should -"

"Prom -" Noct's voice cut him off, and Prompto immediately stiffened hearing the tension in the tone.  "Look… don't' freak out okay?"

Prompto laughed nervously, rubbed at the bridge of his nose and leaned back against the counter.  "Uh, dude - pro tip?  Don't start a conversation with don't freak out if you actually don't want me to freak out."  A pause.  "What's wrong?"

Noctis sighed on the other end and Prompto could feel his own anxiousness start to bubble and build in the pit of his stomach.  "Something happened as we were leaving that meeting today and… it's Gladio -" and that anxiousness flared, shot through Prompto's veins and he almost dropped the phone.  "And he's fine, Prom - okay - he's okay…"

  
Prompto couldn't catch his breath.  Fine.  He was fine.  Okay.  But fine and okay weren't good and that left a lot still up in the open.  "What  _ happened _ ?" he asked, a slight tremble in his voice.   
  
Prompto could hear Noctis suck in a breath, and he knew what it was.  His best friend taking a moment to collect his thoughts before he spoke.  "There was an attack, someone - some drunk idiot cornered us coming out of the restaurant and he tried to get at me but Gladio stepped in and the guy had a knife -" Prompto's heart jumped at that but he didn't interrupt.  "He lunged at Gladio and Gladio took a hit instead of taking him out.  He's fine, Prompto, I swear, but the guy knifed him pretty bad across the face."

Prompto was quiet.  Pushed past his initial urge to  _ completely freak out _ and tried to let  _ he's fine, Prompto, I swear _ work some logic into his reaction. He was fairly certain the death grip he had on his phone could actually break the damn thing and he tried to loosen it.  Tried to take deep breaths.  In and out.  In and out.  Just like he and Gladio had practiced at the end of training sessions, those long calming breaths that Gladio had walked him through dozens of times in an effort to curb some of his anxieties.  

"Prom?" Noctis asked, worry clear in his tone.

Prompto snapped back to the conversation.  "Yeah… I'm here," he assured Noctis.  In and out.  In and out.  Gladio was  _ fine _ .  Gladio was  _ okay. _  Gladio wasn't dead or dying and it would be okay.  Right?  "Where -" he paused, swallowed hard against the lump in his throat and blinked hard against the tears that had started to form.  "Where are you guys?" he asked, voice small. 

"At the Amicitia's  - are you at your house?  Ignis can come get you on his way over," Noctis replied.

"Yeah... yeah I'm at home…" Prompto answered.

"Okay, Specs will be there right away," Noct said and hung up.

Prompto dropped his phone to the counter and he could feel the edges of panic start to creep back in in the silence.  Gladio had been knifed across the face.  He was okay, he was fine, Prompto reminded himself.  But it was hard to cling onto that when he couldn't see that with his own two eyes, when all those worst case scenarios of it  _ not being fine _ had room to sneak up and take hold.  He turned to the counter, fingers gripping tight on the edge and blinked hard.  He tried to keep breathing deep.  Slow and steady like Gladio had taught him.  But it was hard to focus on it with all his thoughts spiraling completely out of control.  

He let go of the counter and pressed the heels of his hands hard to his eyes.  Why the fuck was he  _ crying _ , he shouldn't be crying.  Gladio was  _ fine _ .  Noctis said so.  

Prompto forced himself into the breathing exercises.  Ignis would be here soon and Ignis didn't need to deal with him having a freaking break down.  

True to Noctis' word there was a knock on the door after not too long.  Prompto quickly splashed some cold water on his face and dried it, hoping it might ebb whatever redness had already seeped in from the tears.  He grabbed his keys and wallet and went to the door to meet with Ignis.   
  
The ride over was, thankfully, quiet.  Which was the best thing about Ignis really.  How he just seemed to know when to pry and more importantly when _not_ to.  Prompto wasn't sure he trusted himself to talk about this before seeing Gladio for himself without completely falling apart.  There was though, a comforting hand laid upon his shoulder as they exited the car and headed up to the door.  A small gesture of support that Prompto was grateful for.  

Iris answered after they knocked and Prompto could see the worry on the younger Amicitia's face.  Or at least as much as she would  _ let _ it be seen.  Prompto quickly moved into the foyer and immediately looped his arms around her in a tight hug.  "You okay?" he asked quietly as they parted and Iris nodded.

"Yeah… okay," she conceded.  And she knew it wasn't as though Gladio were gravely hurt but it had been worrisome all the same.  Like Prompto, all those what ifs and the idea that it could have been worse.  More than that she didn't like seeing her big brother hurt.  "He'll want to see you," she said with a tight smile and nodded up the stairs.

Ignis excused himself to find Noctis and Prompto headed up the stairs.  He'd only been in the Amicitia house a handful of times since Gladio kept his own apartment.  But he knew Gladio still had a room here and was over often for Iris.  It always felt a bit like he was an intruder though when he was in the house.  A feeling that only itched at him more this time after his and Gladio's talk a few weeks prior.     
  
Gladio's door was closed and Prompto hesitated, lifted his hand only to drop it for a moment and take a steadying breath before he knocked.

"Come in," came the gruff voice from inside.

Prompto pushed the door open and walked into the room.  There was a sigh of relief as he saw that Gladio was indeed  _ alive _ (which he knew was dumb since he had  _ just _ said come in) and not only that, sitting up against some pillows stacked on the headboard and without anything hooked up to him that would be part and parcel with a serious injury.    
  
If anything Gladio looked almost perfectly fine.  Almost.  

Even from across the room Prompto could see the angry gash that ran down Gladio's face and his stomach dropped at the sight.  He lingered in the door, not sure what to make of it, of the unreadable expression on Gladio's face as they looked at each other from across the room.  Finally Gladio's expression softened and he motioned for Prompto to come in.  

Prompto moved into the room, hesitated at the bed and then titled his head.  "Can I?" he asked and waited for Gladio to nod and shuffle over a little before he crawled into the bed beside him. 

There was relief, of course, at having seen for himself that Gladio was indeed…  _ okay _ .  But that didn't quell that awful anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach.  Even as he could feel the solid warmth of Gladio next to him in the bed, even as he could turn in to nuzzle into Gladio's side and feel those arms wrap around his smaller frame.  He didn't even realize he had started shaking until Gladio held him tighter in an effort to curb the movement.  

"Prom… hey… it's okay," Gladio soothed from above him and Prompto kicked himself for the way he couldn't quite hold it together.  He snuck his hands between them and wiped harshly at his eyes, angry that he was yet again tearing up over all of this.  

"Sorry," he mumbled out and let out a slow breath.  "I'm sorry, it's dumb I shouldn't be…" he trailed off and shrugged despite the tight grip Gladio had him in.  He wasn't even sure what he meant to say.  Shouldn't be - upset that his boyfriend was hurt?  That didn't seem right.  But neither did getting this upset over something that really wasn't the end of the world.

Gladio shifted, let go of his grip and moved to sit up more in the bed.  "Prompto - we should… talk," he said softly.

Prompto's stomach immediately dropped.  No good ever came after the words  _ we should talk _ .  And given that things had been a little strained since their last  _ talk _ …    
  
He sat up, curled his legs under him and glanced down at his hands in his lap.  "Yeah, okay - about what?" he replied, voice hesitant.  He dared a glance upward and up close the cut was worse.  Angry red and swollen around the edges and Prompto knew it would have been worse earlier - before the healing Gladio had no doubt undergone.  A long jagged line down the majority of his face, shiny with what Prompto assumed was some kind of salve and he couldn't help but wince.  Because that looked like it fucking  _ hurt _ .  

Gladio reached across and took one of Prompto's hands, enveloped in his larger ones.  "Look - Prompto… you know I really care about you…"

Prompto pulled his hand back as the words came out.  "Don't," he all but hissed out and scrambled off the bed.  "Shit, Gladio - if you're going to break up with me just  _ say it _ .  Don't beat around it with some speech about how you think I'm really great but you just can't -"

"Prompto," Gladio cut him off and Prompto turned to look back at the other on the bed.  "Can you come sit back down?"

Prompto fidgeted where he stood and then moved back to the bed.  He sat back down and folded his legs under himself once more. "Are you breaking up with me?" he asked and peered up at Gladio.  

Gladio could  _ feel _ the panic and worry as it radiated off of Prompto and he reached again for one of his hands, a slight hesitation before he laced their fingers together.  He  _ knew _ what his answer should be.  That it was like a bandaid and better to rip it off quickly and all and once than to draw out the inevitable.  But he couldn't.  He didn't want to walk away.  Not from this.  Not from Prompto.  But he also knew Prompto deserved honesty, to be completely aware of what he was getting himself into if they continued their relationship.

  
It was a turning point that they'd come to, the line in the sand between something fun and casual and something  _ more _ .  Gladio knew that.  He'd known it since that afternoon in this very room not too long ago.  They hadn't talked about it properly then, and their relationship had suffered in the interim because of it.  Gladio didn't want them to make the same mistake now. 

"I really care about you," he tried again and gave Prompto's hand  a squeeze.  He knew it was an understatement.  That  _ care _ was not strong enough of a word.  But it was the most he felt he could give right then knowing the outcome of this conversation might spell the end of them entirely.  "And I don't want to break up with you, Prompto," he assured the other.  "But I want you to know what you're getting into - with me."  He paused.  "And that if it's too much, it's okay if  _ you _ wanted to break up with  _ me _ .  I'd understand."

Prompto just stared at him in disbelief, a slight tremble in ins hands at the mere  _ thought _ of it.  "Break up with you?  Why would I want to break up with you, Gladio, I  _ love _ you."  It took a split second for the words to leave his mouth before he realized  _ what _ he had just said and Prompto immediately buried his face into his hands.  "Wait - shit - I didn't mean to, that was probably too much, I mean here you are talking about if we should break up up and I just blurt out  _ that _ …" he started to ramble.

Gladio reached for Prompto's hands and gently peeled them away from his face.  "You love me?" he asked, his heart pounding in his chest as he looked at Prompto, the flush across cheeks that had those damn freckles standing out even more.  He cupped Prompto's face in his hands and his thumbs brushed against flushed skin as amber eyes searched violet blue.  

Prompto nodded softly, glanced down for a moment and then back up to meet Gladio's gaze.  "Yeah - I do, you idiot," he answered and laughed softly.  "That's why it hit me so hard the other week, when you said what you did - about not seeing a future… why it made me panic so much today, the idea of you being hurt and not being okay..."   
  
Gladio pushed forward and brushed his lips against Prompto's.  A soft, chase kiss that deepened almost immediately.  The words lit a spark, spread a warmth through him and Gladio shuffled in closer to Prompto as they kissed.  He rested their foreheads together when they broke, breathless, with Prompto's face still cupped between his hands.  "I love you too, Prompto," he said softly.  It had been there - for a while.  A feeling that had burned just below the surface for weeks now.  Months.  Maybe longer.  

Prompto's hands came up to rest on Gladio's and he pressed his lips together.  "So then why - Gladio why do you think I'd want to break up with you?" he asked.  

"Because… Prompto - you deserve so much more than I've got to give," Gladio answered, his voice thick with emotion.  "You're amazing you know that?  You're so damn amazing and as much as I want to give you everything… I  _ can't _ ."  He pulled back to look at Prompto.  "My duty, Noctis - it all has to come first.  Before anything - or  _ anyone  _ else.  Even you."  He paused.  "And what you just said, about being panicked over what happened today -" Gladio paused and swallowed hard.  

Gladio let his hands fall, resting them lightly on Prompto's thighs.  "I got lucky today," he said plainly.  "I walked away from something that could have been a lot worse.  One day I might not be so lucky," he glanced up to catch Prompto's gaze.  "My life isn't mine, Prom.  It belongs to Noctis and at any moment it's my duty to lay it down for his," the words were spoken plain.  There was no malice behind them because Gladio  _ had _ none.  He had pride in his position, in his duty to the crown.  

But that was fine and dandy for  _ him _ .  Bringing someone else into that?  That was a whole other story.  "It's not fair for me to expect someone to be okay with that," he added gently.  "Especially you." 

Prompto moved, shifted to straddle Gladio's lap and - so very mindful of the fresh gash - raked his hands through Gladio's hair.  It was getting longer, the undercut he'd kept starting to grow out.  Maybe it was too soon to be talking like they were, Prompto couldn't help but half think.  To be acting like this was all or nothing.  But as he looked down into those amber eyes, felt that warmth that flickered and spread through him by nothing more than just a  _ look _ , Prompto couldn't imagine feeling like this about anyone else ever.  And yeah, maybe that some dumb, foolish, romantic notion that came with being young and in love but… it didn't feel like it.  

There was a soft hum from Gladio as his eyes closed while Prompto carded his fingers through his hair and Gladio let his hands settle onto Prompto's hips.  "So what -  _ you're _ just supposed to be alone and miserable for the rest of your life because of your duty?" he pointed out.  "That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard, Gladio," he added with a soft laugh before he paused and tried to put together his thoughts before he spoke again.

"Gladio…" Prompto started again and waited until Gladio opened his eyes again before he continued.  "I love you," and it didn't feel nearly as scary the second time.  "And I'd rather -" his hands moved to settle on those broad shoulders that he'd fallen asleep on countless times now, the ones that always made him feel so wanted and protected.  "I'd rather have  _ some _ of you than  _ none  _ of you," he finished quietly.

Gladio lifted a hand and curled it behind Prompto's neck.  "You deserve so much more than that," he repeated.

Prompto shook his head.  Far as he was concerned everything he did have was already far more than he could have ever earned.  But he knew better than to put it like that.  "If you really thought that, if you really wanted me to walk away you wouldn't have given me the choice," he pointed out.  

Gladio smirked and dropped his head to avert his gaze.  "Or maybe I'm just too damn weak to walk away myself," he counted.  

"So then don't," Prompto said.  

Gladio sighed and leaned his head forward, forehead falling to Prompto's chest, head turned to the side as to not aggravate the gash on his face.  Prompto's hands went back to carding through Gladio's hair and they were quiet for a long moment.  Gladio knew the underlying issue wasn't solved.  Not by a long shot.  That it would have to come up again at some point but for now… for now he just wanted to be weak and let himself have this.  "I love you," he said softly on an exhale and tilted his head up to look at Prompto.   
  
Prompto beamed at the words and leaned down to press a quick kiss to Gladio's lips.  "I love you too, Big Guy."  And he had to wonder if would ever feel less amazing to say that.  Somehow he doubted it.

Gladio grinned despite himself and perked a brow.  "Yeah - even with this ugly ass thing?" he asked and raised a hand to gesture at the gash on his face.

Prompto nodded.  "Of course.  And it's not ugly - it's all rugged and badass…"  
  
Gladio snorted.

"I'm serious!" Prompto interjected with a playful smack against Gladio's shoulder.  "Chicks dig scars," he said with a teasing tone.

"And you apparently," Gladio pointed out and Prompto laughed.

"Rugged and badass," he repeated before he pressed another kiss to Gladio's lips.  A soft thing that he grinned into before he deepened it.  Gladio licked at the seam of his lips, seeking entrance that Prompto was all too content to give.    
  
Gladio's hands wrapped around Prompto tight as they kissed and in one swift move he maneuvered them to lay down on the bed, Prompto below him.  Prompto couldn't help the soft moan as he felt Gladio's hips pressing down against his own and a large hand snaking up under the material of his t-shirt to run up his side.  The kiss turned insistent, the kind that always led to… _other_ things and Prompto pressed up to meet Gladio's next thrust down.  

"Wait… wait…" he breathed out as they parted.  "Are you sure you're up for this?" Prompto asked.

Gladio rolled his eyes.  "It's just a scratch, Blondie, I'm fine," he answered.  

"Just a scratch?" Prompto squeaked out.  "A scratch is like… a paper cut that is more than just a scratch…" he trailed off as Gladio started laughing.  "You're impossible."

Gladio grinned. "Yeah, but you love me," he replied.

Prompto grinned back.  "Yeah, I do," he said and slid a hand around Gladio's neck to tug him down again.  Yeah… he definitely did. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come bug me on [tumblr](http://myloveiamthespeedofsound.tumblr.com/)!


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